Projectile



April 1936. E.- w. BRANDT 2,037,308

PROJECTILE Filed March 22, 1935' Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNITED .STATESPROJECTIIE Edgar William Brandt, Paris, France Application March 22,1935, Serial No. 12,503 In France April 5, 1934 4 Claim.

This invention relates to projectiles.

Projectiles and particularly such as are fired from mortars are alreadyknown, which are provided at their rear end with a tubular tail carryingstabilizing fins and in which the propulsive charge is located betweenthe forward end of said fins and the body of the projectile.

In all these known projectiles, the insertion of the propulsive chargein the form of a cylindrical casing containing the powder, necessitatesthe tail of the projectile being first disconnected from the body so asto enable the cylindrical cartridge to be fitted on to the front portionof the tail which latter must then be screwed on to the projectile. Thisoperation entails a loss of time when firing.

Projectiles for motars are also known which have at their rear end atubular tail which is open at the posterior end and is intended toreceive a propulsive cartridge. Mounted on this tail are the stabilizingfins between which are situated the mouths of radial bores in the tail.In order to increase the range of such projectiles, it has been proposedto place outside the tail and between the fins, supplementary charges orrelays which are ignited by the defiagration of the cartridge, the flamebeing transmitted through the radial bores in the tail. 1

This arrangement however, has the following disadvantage: During thedefiagration of the cartridge powder, the gases detach small particlesof the cartridge case at the points facing the radial bores, whichparticles accumulate in the combustion chamber of the mortar and lead tothe risk of miss-fires when firing is continued for some time. If theprojectile is fired from a gun with a movable (for example screw-in)breech, these particles or confetti make it difficult to close thebreech.

Moreover, the position of the relays between the fins distorts thelatter when the charge or strength of the powder exceeds a certainvalue, thereby shortening the range of the projectile.

The present invention aims at obviating the foregoing drawbac To thisend, the invention contemplates p oviding the projectile in the rearwith a tubular tail having stabilizing fins disposed round itsperimeter, and carrying a propulsive charge located between the forwardedge of the fins and the body of the projectile.

The projectile of the present invention is characterized in that thesaid propulsive charge constituted by component members, is housed incavities in the tail, and is adapted to be ignited by a cartridgedisposed in a known manner, in the lower portion of the tail, the flamebeing transmitted through one or more bores provided in the upper partof the cartridge chamber.

By virtue of this arrangement of the propulsive charge in accordancewith'the invention, 5 there is no risk of the relays, which are nolonger situated between the fins, distorting the fins duringdefiagration. Moreover, since such relays are embedded in the interiorof the tail, they are protected from damage during transport and 1handling of the projectile.

The insertion or removal of one or more relays can be effected instantlywithout first screwing or unscrewing the tail of the projectile. Finallythe formation of confetti, cut from the cartridge 15 case is prevented.

. Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description.

In order more clearly to understand the inven- 20 tion, reference ismade to the accompanying drawing which illustrates diagrammatically andby way of example one embodiment thereof and in which:

Fig. 1 is an axial section; and

Fig. 2 is a cross sectionalong the line l-I of Fig. 1.

The projectile illustrated comprises a tapered body I, to the rear endof which is attached a tail 2. Said tail 2 is provided with one or more30 recesses 3 adapted to receive the component members 4 of thepropulsive charge. In the embodiment shown, said charge members areenclosed in combustible casings comprising a rim 5, which bears againstthe outer periphery of the 35 recesses 3 and enables the charges to beentirely extracted, for example by the finger tips, if necessary.

The tail also comprises an axial passage 8, communicating by way of anopening I with the recesses 3. The passage 6 is intended to receiveanother fraction of the propulsive charge represented'in the drawing bya cartridge 8, fitting friction-tight in the passage 6. The length ofthe 45 cartridge is preferably less than that of the passage so thatwhen the cartridge is pushed home, the cap 9 will be slightly sunk belowthe level of the rear edge of the tail, and protected against shock.

The stabilizing fins in are mounted on the periphery of the tail 2 inrear of the recesses 3 and opposite the solid part containing thecartridge 8. These fins preferably extend beyond the tip of the tail asshown in order not only to protect the cartridge from shock but also toincrease their stabilizing action.

The body may comprise driving band grooves l I at its widest part. Asuitable fuse I2 ensures the ignition of the explosive or other chargecontained in the body I.

The projectile is intended more particularly for being fired insmooth-bore mortars, either by means of a fixed striker pin or by atrigger. 7

When the cartridge 8 and one or more supplementary charges 4 has beeninserted in the tail 2, the percussion of the cartridge deflagrates itscharge of powder which in turn, ignites the supplementary charges 4 byway of the passage 1. Since the fins III are located in rear of thecharges 4, they are not exposed to any effort capable of distortingthem.

The maximum supplementary charge or relay 4 may with advantage beinserted in the recesses 3 beforehand, one or more of them, according tothe desired range, being taken out just before firing. If, throughinadvertance, this operation should be omitted, a long shot will alwaysresult, which is a precautionary factor of importance when firing overfriendly troops.

The embedding of the relays 4 in their radial housings 3 enables theprojectile, fitted with its propulsive charge, to be carried in a bagwithout any risk of the relays becoming detached.

Although the recesses 3 accommodating the re lays 4 have been shown inthe accompanying drawing as merged together in a transverse bore in thetail 2, it is obvious that they may be separated from one another andthat each communicates with the passage 6.

The cartridge may obviously also be replaced by a propulsive chargeconstituted by a cartridge with separate priming. The body may also beof diilerent shape to that shown in the drawing.

In fine, it is obvious that the invention is capable of numerousmodifications and alterations without departing from the spirit andscope thereof as defined in the appended claims. Y

Having thus described my invention,- what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A projectile comprising a body, a tail rigid with said body andextending rearwardly therefrom, a receptacle formed in the rear portionof said tail to receive a propelling charge, stabilizing fins rigid withsaid tail and at least one radially'extending additional receptacleformed in the forward portion of said tail and communicating withtherear receptacle the said additional receptacle having its outer endopen to receive an additional propelling charge. a

2. A'projectile comprising a body, ajail rigid with said body andextendin rearwardly therefrom, a receptacle formed in the rear portionof said tail to receive a propelling charge, stabilizing fins rigid withsaid tailand at least one radially extending additional receptacleformed in the forward portion of said tail and communieating with therear receptacle, the said additional receptacle having its outer endopen to receive an additional propelling charge and said outer endopening between the front edge of the fins and the body of theprojectile.

3. A projectile comprising a body, a tail rigid with said body andextending rearwardly therefrom, a receptacle formed in the rear portion01' said tail to receive a propelling charge and at least one radiallyextending additional receptacle formed in the forward portion of saidtail to receive additional propelling charges, the said additionalreceptacle communicating with the rear receptacle, in combination with acartridge of propelling material fitting said rear receptacle and withat least one additional propelling charge housed in a combustible casingfitting the radial ly extending receptacle, said casing having a rimadapted to bear against the periphery of the open end of the additionalreceptacle to enable the additional charge to be easily extracted.

4. A projectile comprising a body, a tail fixedly connected to said bodyduring transportation and flight, said tail providing within itsperipheral surface a primary receptacle open at the rear for receiving aprimary propelling charge, and also providing therewithin at least oneradially ex-- tending secondary receptacle open at the peripheralsurface of the tail for receiving a secondary propelling charge andspaced axially of the projectile from the primary receptacle, said tailhaving a passage for establishing communication be tween saidreceptacles, and stabilizing fins mounted upon the tail and extendingrearwardly of the opening of the secondary receptacle.

EDGAR WILLIAM BRANDT.

